A 52-year-old homebuilder is dead after an ICE officer shot him through his van window during a traffic stop in Houston — and the only people who saw it happen are being held by the same agency that pulled the trigger, with their lawyer saying they're being pressured to sign deportation papers before investigators can get their stories.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was driving his construction crew to a job site early Tuesday morning when ICE agents in unmarked vehicles attempted to stop his white van. He was not the target of their operation. Federal agents were looking for someone else who merely resembled a person inside the van, according to Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who was briefed by ICE's acting director. The Department of Homeland Security claims Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and the officer fired in self-defense. They have released no evidence — no video, no photos, nothing.

The officers weren't wearing body cameras. Their vehicles had no dash cams. The entire federal case rests on the word of the shooter and his colleagues.

Three witnesses tell a different story. The men detained in the van told attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra that Salgado Araujo was shot through a passenger window, that no officer was ever in front of the van, and that no agent was ever in danger. Balderas-Ibarra said images of the van after the shooting appear to show no damage. "I have no doubt that what they're saying is the truth. I know that these agents — the agency — is going to try to cover it up," he told reporters Friday.

Now those witnesses are in ICE custody, and family members say the agency is pressuring them to self-deport — which would remove them from the jurisdiction before they can speak with investigators. Juana Degollado, whose stepfather Daniel Tirado Pantoja is among the detained, said he has no legal status but no criminal record. "It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation," Balderas-Ibarra said. "That will all be out the window if they are deported." DHS called the pressure claims "categorically false."

The Harris County district attorney's office launched an investigation, but DA Sean Teare said his agency was "not invited to the scene." The FBI is investigating whether Salgado assaulted ICE officials — the same FBI that previously refused to share information with Minnesota officials about separate ICE shootings that killed two U.S. citizens earlier this year.

Salgado Araujo lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years. His family said he had no criminal record and was close to finishing the process of obtaining legal status. His son Ronaldo, a teacher, believes his father may have been frightened by unmarked vehicles following him — a reasonable fear in a city where criminals pose as law enforcement. "He knew what to do," Ronaldo Salgado said of his father's preparation for a potential immigration stop. "He knew not to sign anything."

This is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge. No immigration officers have been charged in any of the killings. In previous cases, video footage has contradicted federal accounts.

A working man, not the target, shot dead on his way to a job site. Three witnesses locked up by the agency that shot him. No cameras, no evidence, and a federal bureaucracy that has every incentive to make the witnesses disappear before anyone with subpoena power can reach them. The question isn't whether the government's story holds up — it's whether anyone will be in a position to challenge it.